Theme park hires shrink to beat fear of roller coasters
HELP is at hand for all those scaredy-cat parents too terrified to take their children on roller coasters, big dippers and other white-knuckle rides.
A theme park has become concerned at the numbers of mums and dads offering to “hold the bags” and watch from the safety of the ground while their intrepid offspring head off in search of thrills.
So, on the understanding that the family that plays together stays together – even while the older ones are being scared out of their wits – it has taken the unusual step of calling in an expert to help them.
Chessington World of Adventures & Zoo is offering parents the chance to face their fears and accompany their intrepid offspring on rides by attending a calming session with hypnotherapist Stephen Rigby.
David Smith, the Surrey park’s general manager, said: “We quite understand that many of our guests can find roller coasters frightening.
“However, we pride ourselves on being a family attraction, so it’s just as important for adults to enjoy themselves as much as children.
“We hope that Stephen can help parents overcome their ‘coaster phobia’ and get them to let their hair down on some of our family friendly rides.”
The session will take place next month but if it proves a success the park will consider holding more.
Mr Rigby explained: “Often parents force themselves to go on a ride so they don’t disappoint their children.
“They will try many things to overcome their fear, such as screaming or closing their eyes for the ride. While these methods may help them get through the ride, we want to help them sit back and enjoy it.”
Children can nominate their parents for a session at www.chessington.com/shoutabout.The online form says: “If your mum or dad are always too scared to go on the rides, let us know which ride you would most like them to go on with you.
“We’ll select winners to come to Chessington for some professional advice on how to get over their fears.”
Wimping out of any white knuckle rides is just one of the embarrassing things that children hate parents doing during theme park trips.
The top 10 items on a list compiled by the park include kissing or hugging them, holding their hands and treating them like a babies.
The rest of the list is taken up with the thing that parents always seem to insist on doing, like telling their friends embarrassing stories about them, shouting or telling them off, trying too hard to be cool, wearing uncool clothes, shouting their names from a distance and telling rotten jokes.
